


I Think That Life is Beautiful

by bad_seed



Category: Menendez
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Ending, Blood, Bruises, Child Abuse, Crying, Cute, Domestic Violence, Drama, Eventual Romance, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Help, High School, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Kissing, Love, Love at First Sight, Men Crying, Parent/Child Incest, Past Child Abuse, Rape, Romance, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Content, Slurs, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-13
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-10-27 17:09:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17770862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bad_seed/pseuds/bad_seed
Summary: "Isn't life beautiful, I think that life is beautiful."Meredith Westbay, a freshly eighteen year old girl who has lived in Calabasas her whole life, was always just your average rich girl.Like everyone else, she lived in the big house, her daddy bought her a new car for her birthday, she went on big shopping sprees. She had her small group of friends and her brother, Jackson. She didn't need much else. Her life was going exactly as she planned.And then he came along. Younger, handsome, curly headed, moved from Jersey.And things couldn't have changed more.





	1. Chapter 1

Childish giggling, the sound that perks people's attention and causes them to smile along and shake their heads in amusement. The sound filled the dreams of Meredith, a sound she hadn't heard in a while. It reminded her of her younger brother with his blonde hair and brown eyes, matching hers in shade. The way he used to giggle and play before that one night happened two years earlier. Something they were still dealing with to that day as their father was no longer in the picture because of it.  
Meredith sighed sadly as she woke to streams of sunlight pouring in through her deep red curtains, creating lines of almost sparkly dust in the air. She pushed herself up and ran a hand through her sleep-knotted, short, straight blonde hair, her small hand then going to rub over her face. With wobbly legs, Meredith stood up, the floorboards creaking slightly from the sudden weight of her thin form.  
"Thank god for not having a first period," Meredith mumbled groggily to herself with a yawn and dragged her feet over towards her closet, stretching her arms over her head. "Alright.. still September, so it's probably hot, I guess."  
She shuffled through the hangers, snatching up a white tennis skirt and black off the shoulder crop top. She had been told there was a new student joining Calabasas High School. Why somebody would want to go there and start the second week of school, she had no idea. She just hoped they would be halfway decent.  
"Meredith! Breakfast is almost ready!" Meredith's mother, Jane, called up the stairs in a chirpy voice. She had been trying her best to make her two kids' lives as incredible as she could with it just being her around after what happened with her now ex-husband and her son, Jackson.  
"Be down in a minute!" Meredith yelled back, quickly slipping on her clothes and getting into her connected bathroom to apply her daily makeup. Foundation, concealer, powder, bronzer, blush, highlight, a bright pink eyeshadow and sparkly lip gloss. She had a slight struggle with acne and though it may clog her pores just a bit more, covering the redness and light scarring helped her feel good about herself. Meredith popped out her purple retainers and ran her tongue across her front teeth, getting her toothbrush ready.  
"Good morning, Mer-Bear," Jane smiled as her daughter walked into the dining room to seat herself at the large, marble dining table.  
"Morning, mom," Meredith blushed at the nickname she had been given from childhood making its daily appearance. Jane placed her plate in front of her: scrambled eggs, toast, and a few strips of bacon with orange juice on the side. "Thank you. How was Jackson this morning?" She asked as she picked up her knife and fork, her mother sitting across from her with her own plate.  
"He's getting better. Slowly but surely. Well, he's coping better, at least. He has a therapy appointment today, so hopefully that may help him get that smile back," Jane said with a sad smile, gingerly sipping at her hot coffee. "I still can't believe I missed the signs. Didn't even listen to what he said when he was younger and then it happened again when he was older. Jackson says it was only those two times, but you never know really."  
"I know. And I know it's really hard not blaming yourself. Like I'm his big sister, I'm supposed to protect him from the scary things. He's fourteen and he's my best friend and I couldn't protect him. But it isn't our faults. It isn't his fault either. The only person in the wrong is dad, and all we can do is be there for Jackson every step of the way," Meredith said gently and reached across the table to take her mother's hand with a soft smile to dimple her cheeks. "You're the best mom Jackson and I could ask for."  
"Thank you, honey. Sometimes it's just nice to hear it," Jane whispered and held her daughter's hand back. "I certainly have the best kids in the world.  
"That you do," she giggled and scooped some of her eggs into her mouth, feeling the fluffiness burning the roof of her mouth lightly. They chatted a bit as they ate their breakfast together the way they did everyday, some of the time just being filled with comfortable silence. "I gotta head to school," Meredith smiled and stood up, bringing her plate into the kitchen to place in the sink.  
"Bye, Meredith. Be good, learn lots, have fun, be safe," Jane chuckled and kissed Meredith's cheek just as she grabbed her backpack and hurried out the door and to her car.

Meredith drove to school with the latest Michael Jackson song playing on her radio, bopping her head along to the beat. She pulled into her assigned parking spot and put her car into park, sitting in her air conditioned seat for just a bit longer so the song could play out and she could dance and sing along.  
The knock on her window caused her to snap out of her little world with a scream and a jump, quickly putting a hand to her chest where her heart was thumping in her ribcage. Meredith quickly turned off the radio and turned to face the window, sighing in relief as she saw it to be her best friend, Craig Cignarelli. She rolled down her window and stuck her head out.  
"You scared the shit out of me! What do you want?" Meredith sighed heavily as she looked up at his smiling face.  
"Nice dancing. But you're gonna be late for class," Craig laughed and opened her door to reach across her and grab her backpack from the passenger seat.  
"Hey!" She gasped and quickly got out, going up on to her toes in an attempt to reach her bag which he held over her head.  
"Woah, woah, be careful," Craig mumbled and immediately brought her bag down for her to grab, reaching around to fix her skirt and pull her shirt back down before people would stare. "Don't need anything happening to you so soon into the year."  
"You're right. Thanks, Craig," Meredith gave him a weak, embarrassed smile and took her backpack to sling over her shoulder. She dragged her heels as they walked into the building, the sound of her shoes scratching the pavement filling her ears.  
"Stop that. You'll wreck them," he smirked and nudged her with his elbow. He ran his fingers through his brown locks, already slightly sweaty with the heat and the sun of a Calabasas September. They made their way to the first class they had together, glad they had set their schedules up the year prior so they would match, their first choice being the acting class they had walked into.  
"Front and center or back corner?" Meredith smirked as she tilted her head back to look up at Craig.  
"Well it seem someone has already taken the back corner," Craig mumbled and nodded his head in the direction where a boy sat with his head in a book.  
"Well let's go join him," Meredith giggled and took Craig's wrist, lightly tugging him along to got sit at the empty table next to the boy, leaving a chair in between them. Craig unzipped his backpack to pull out his red college ruled notebook, his freshly sharpened pencil following it. He opened it up and tore out a page, scribbling a quick note and folding it up before passing it in Meredith's direction.  
"This is so dumb!" She read with a giggle and lightly smacked his arm. "It'll be fine. What's the worst that can happen?" She wrote back and handed it to him. The teacher walked in just before Craig could answer, a tall woman in a long, flowy dress, her red hair pulled into a loose bun at the base of her neck.  
"Hello, everyone! Another day of acting class!" Ms.Evans smiled brightly and clapped her hands together, putting everyone around her in a good mood. She reminded students of Cinderella with the way her voice and her light drew people and animals closer and into the warmth of her bubble. In her classroom, they felt safe. Safe from a world that was otherwise so cold, so cruel. To a place they could call home, call it their own. The kids who took the acting class weren't always looked at the nicest way, almost looked down upon. Yet Ms.Evans and her warm brown eyes and bright pink lipstick made it so her students didn't care what the others had to say.  
"Hello, Ms.Evans," the class mused, the group sighing in relief as the gentle hum of the air conditioning kicked it. Her heels clicked as she made her ways to the window, pulling up the shades to let in the sunlight with those same streams of sparkly dust Meredith remembered waking up to.  
"It's lovely to see all of your faces so early in the morning. Now before we get into everything, I would like to announce that we have a new student, not only to our class, but joining out school community. Everybody, please say hello to Erik," she smiled his way. Meredith looked over at the boy who put his book down, his cheeks going pink which let her know he must be Erik. She giggled cutely which got his attention, gasping softly as he glanced over at her. Holy shit, he was gorgeous. The perfect light brown curls sat on his head, his cheekbones carved like diamonds into his face and a jawline so sharp she just wanted to run her fingers over it and feel it sting like a paper cut. She couldn't tell his eye color, whether they were blue, green, grey...the distance made it difficult.  
"It would be great if one or two of you could invite him to join you. Help him make some new friends here in gorgeous Calabasas," Ms.Evans chuckled and looked around the room. Craig smirked cockily before grabbing Meredith's wrist and raising both of their hands.  
"We'll do it!" Craig called out.  
"W-what?- Craig!" Mereditch squeaked, suddenly more shy now that she had seen what he looked like. Craig stood up with her and moved them to the table where the new kid was sat at, smiling from ear to ear.  
"I'm Craig," he smiled and took the new kid's hand, shaking it roughly.  
"Erik," the curly haired boy gulped and accepted the handshake, his face still red.  
"Meredith," Meredith introduced herself quietly and fidgeted with her blonde hair, twirling strands in her fingers.  
"That's a pretty name," Erik smiled weakly as he glanced her way, looking her up and down. Something about her made his lungs stop working briefly, a shaky breath getting caught in his throat. How is it possible that some girl he doesn't even know is making him nervous?  
"You have an accent," she pointed out suddenly, tilting her head slightly to the left the way a puppy often did as it was attempting to learn its name.  
"Um..yes. I do," Erik cleared his throat and looked down, becoming a bit insecure with how his voice sounded. How obvious it was with how he spoke that he wasn't from around the area.  
"Where does it come from?" Meredith asked sweetly, her brown eyes big and curious.  
"Oh. Jersey. Born and raised," Erik chuckled and rested his elbow on the desk, his chin gently laid in his palm. Meredith giggled lightly and let her head hang to face her lap, Craig giving her a knowing smirk as he had seen her act that way few times before. Only when she felt someone was very attractive.  
"Hey, Erik, we're doing a partner project in here. Craig got assigned to somebody else and I don't have a partner. So really you came here at the perfect time," she said, and smiled with the sweetness of candy in her eyes.  
"I did?" Erik mumbled and cocked an arched brow at her. Craig lightly tapped Meredith's ankle with his foot under the table, taking in a shaky breath in an attempt to hold back his giggles.  
"Yes. You did," Meredith shot a glare at Craig, causing the green-eyed boy to playfully hold up his hands in surrender. "Because that means I get to have you as my partner. We've been practicing writing screenplays in here."  
"Sounds...interesting, I guess," he chuckled lightly and shook his head before running his fingers through his curls.  
"We'll have to talk more tomorrow about making plans to write together," Meredith blushed and stood with sound of the bell. She lifted her backpack by the strap, a small spring in her step as her and Craig left the room.  
"You think he's cute," Craig mumbled with a smirk.  
"I do not," she gasped softly, her cheeks and nose dusting a light pink as she laid another smack to his bicep.  
"Oh totally."


	2. Blood Still Stains When the Sheets Are Washed

The deep echo of a fist shooting against a bedroom door woke Erik with a sharp gasp, his body immediately sitting up straight in his bed.  
"Get down here, faggot! You'll be late!" He heard his father, Jose, bellow on the other side of the wood, causing Erik's breathing to stutter in fear.  
"I'm up," he mumbled and rubbed the back of his neck lightly, trailing his hand down to run over his bare chest. Erik shuffled into his bathroom and flicked on the lights, flinching at how bright it suddenly was. The lights left colorful speckles in his eyes everywhere he looked, a weak thumping ringing in the back of his head.  
He glanced up into the mirror and let out a soft sigh, his tired face dropping. He saw where things weren't proportioned properly and the muscle in his arms and abdomen didn't match the extra weight in his thighs. His collarbones stuck out too much and went to his shoulders making everything seem too boxy and the birthmark on his right wrist made him scoff in disgust. Nobody knew where he got the curls so he was never taught how to perfect them when he was little and had to learn through trial and error. He felt his dimples made his smile look weird so he looked down or covered his mouth anytime his lips twisted up in happiness. His eyes were his mom's, though the brightness in hers was no match for his.  
Erik stuck his toothbrush in his mouth, thinking of what he could wear as he brushed. Walking back into his bedroom and to his large closet, he didn't even look as he grabbed a pair of white shorts and a red sweatshirt. He wasn't able to get that much sleep the previous night, which wasn't uncommon with the nightmares he suffered from. But that night was different. That night, he didn't stay up in fear of the monsters in his closet or under his bed or in any other nook of his bedroom. Instead, he stayed awake with his mind wandering to a girl in his new school.  
"Okay...okay. No, I need to get ready. Day number two, just as important as day number one," Erik whispered to himself with a small smile as he changed into his clothes, giving his head a shake and fixing his hair before heading down the stairs.  
"Took you long enough," Jose grumbled as he saw his youngest child walk in.  
"Sorry, sir," Erik mumbled and grabbed a glass to fill with water, his head facing the floor.  
"You fucking should be. When I tell you to do something, you do it. Do I make myself clear?" His father growled deeply and quietly as he leaned closer to him. Erik could feel Jose's breath on the back of his neck to the shell of his ear and physically cringed, his body squirming in discomfort. "Maybe you didn't hear me the first time. I said," Jose laid a hard smack to his son's butt before grabbing it tight in his hand, "do I make myself clear?"  
"C-crystal clear," Erik said with a small whimper of fear laced in his voice, his few words trembling as he spoke them.  
"I don't think it is crystal clear. I think you need a lesson or two about doing what I say. When I get home from work, you better be up in your room," Jose seethed through clenched teeth and let go off his butt to use that same hare to harshly slap the back of his head. Erik whimpered in pain and quickly put his hands to where he felt the sting reddening the skin under his curls. "Now go to school."  
"Yes, sir," Erik gulped and bolted out the front door, driving away before his father changed his mind.

"Do you think he's here today? What if he dropped the class? Do you think he did? Is it because of me?" Meredith rambled nervously to Craig as she constantly glanced between the clock on the wall in her acting class and the empty seat at their new table. She was chewing her lower lip, her blonde hair flicking lightly every time she turned her head.  
"Calm down, Meredith. He could just be running late, or maybe he's out sick," Craig chuckled and leaned back in his chair with his fingers linking behind his head. "You just met him and you're already concerned on his whereabouts. You must think he's extra cute."  
"What? No. No, I...I don't," Meredith mumbled, her face going bright pink in embarrassment. "I'm...just concerned where my project partner is. Like any good partner would be."  
"Oh yeah. You're just wanting to discuss your project. Not wanting to discuss if he could go to your house later?" He smirked.  
"Not today...maybe go to a coffee shop tomorrow so we can talk before getting him to my house. J-just to figure out the screenplay," she gulped and looked down. "Fuck, where is he?!"  
"Meredith, he's right there," Craig laughed and motioned to the door as Erik hurried in ten minutes late, his cheeks patchy pink from sprinting.  
"I'm here! I'm here. Sorry I'm late, just had some...family issues," Erik panted softly as he handed his tardy pass to Ms.Evans, his fingers running through his thick curls.  
"It's okay, hun. Family comes first," Ms.Evans said gently with a sweet smile and rubbed his arm. Erik nodded and walked to his seat at the table with Craig and Meredith, bouncing his leg nervously.  
"It's good to see you, kid. Meredith was ready to file a missing persons report," Craig said with a smirk and glanced over at his blonde friend.  
"I was worried," Meredith blushed and looked down at the desk.  
"Oh...well...thank you," Erik said with a weak smile a nod of his head.  
"Alright, everyone, listen up please. Today I want you to get with your partners and start talking about your screenplays. Maybe plan times to meet up," Ms.Evans smiled as she looked at each individual student. "I have high hopes for all of you." As soon as she finished speaking, the students began shuffling, the sounds of chair scraping on the floor as they moved to sit with their partners. Craig left the table, leaving Erik and Meredith to awkwardly sit next to each other.  
"Okay. So like...when we were told about the project, Ms.Evans assigned each pair a genre for their screenplay," Meredith explained as she turned to face him, her legs crisscross in her seat.  
"Oh she did? What's our then?" Erik smiled and turned his head to look at her.  
"...romance," Meredith mumbled and bit her lip shyly.  
"Should be fun. Those are always the easiest to write," he chuckled and subtly glanced up and down Meredith.  
"Yeah. I guess so. I just dont want to make you uncomfortable or ruin the small friendship I hope we've started," she looked up at him with big eyes.  
"I don't mind at all. It's a script. Acting," he smiled, his dimples digging into his cheeks. Erik pushed the sleeves of his white sweatshirt up to his elbows as it had gotten warm in the classroom, not thinking twice about what he had done.  
"Woah, um..." Meredith gulped as her brown eyes went wide in shock. She stares down at the forearms where an array of fresh, dark bruises and yellow fading ones covered the expanse of his skin.  
"What?" Erik tilted his head in confusion, his eyebrows furrowing together.  
"Uh...are you okay?" She stuttered as she couldn't take her eyes off of his skin.  
"What do you- oh," he gasped softly as he noticed where Meredith was staring, quickly pushing his sleeves back down to tuck his hands in. "It's nothing," Erik shook his head frantically.  
"Th-that's not nothing, Erik, that's-"  
"I said it's nothing, so it's nothing, Meredith," he sighed heavily and put his elbows on the table, his forehead going into his palms as he bounced his legs.  
"Hey...I didn't mean anything bad by it, they just worried me," Meredith whispered and gently wrapped her fingers around his wrist to pull his hand from his face. "I won't mention it again. But we should meet up tomorrow. There's this coffee shop like two streets away from here. I hope to see you there after school."  
"Thank you. I'll be there," Erik whispered and ran his hand over his face. "Here. For when we need to meet up," he mumbled and snatched a scrap bit of paper put of his notebook, scribbling his phone number in blue pen before passing it to her. Meredith smiled as she held the paper, feeling her heart skip a few beats.  
"Of course," Meredith giggled cutely and folded the paper neatly to tuck it into her bag.

Erik drove home with a smile on his face, his fingers tingling in excitement at the thought of meeting up with Meredith the next day. He knew she didn't need his phone number as they saw each other every weekday, but hoped that one day she might use it. He pulled into his driveway and took out his key, listening to the engine die down.  
He got out of his car and skipped up to his front door, unlocking the door with ease before stepping into the large house. The pretty blonde in his acting class filled his mind with golden sunlight and newly picked daisies, crackling fireplaces and warm blankets fresh out of the drier. Though the more he thought about Meredith, the more he couldn't believe how stupid he was to roll up the sleeves of his sweatshirt when he knew damn well what was underneath. She seemed so concerned for him. She must think he's some freak now, that he must be doing it to himself because why would she assume it's his father, she hadn't even met him.  
Speaking of Jose, it was only when the sound of car doors locking hit Erik's ears that he remembered what his father heard told him that morning in the kitchen. "When I get home from work, you better be up in your room."  
Erik heard the jingle of house keys fiddling with locks and he quickly ran up the stairs, only tripping slightly on his way though he caught himself on the wall. He hurried into his large bedroom, sitting himself on the king sized bed he had to push up the stairs himself when they moved in burst recently.  
"Maybe he forgot? God, please let him forget," Erik whispered to himself fearfully and clasped his hands together in front of his chest. Jose's slow footsteps on the staircase echoed up and down the halls as it was just the pair of them and the dogs home. "Son of a bitch, he remembered," he whimpered softly.  
Jose pointed an angry finger at his youngest as he stepped into the room, slamming the heavy door behind him. "You," he seethed, "get on your fucking knees." Jose tightly gripped Erik's wrist and he yanked him hard off the bed and on to the carpeted floor. Erik whimpered in fear, his lower lip beginning to tremble as he situated himself to be sat on his heels of the carpet, watching as Jose undid his belt, his slacks following.  
"Please let this just be it," Erik whispered shakily, trying not to focus on the pain of the rug burn on his already bruised knees.  
"I'll do with you as I please," he growled and pulled out his arousal, his fingers gripping his son's curls tight enough to rip out some hair as he immediately shoved himself fully down Erik's throat so his nose was to his stomach. Erik gagged around his shaft and attempted to pull back though Jose held him there, leaving stuck with pained tears streaking his cheeks as he coughed violently, feeling as though he might throw up. "Close your fucking mouth."  
He did as he was told and wrapped his lips around the length, his hands shaking in fear in his lap. His face was turning a pale shade of pink as he struggled to breathe with how long Jose held him there. Jose finally pulled back until just his tip was in his mouth, Erik quickly taking a deep breath through his nose as he panted heavily.  
"I didn't raise a pussy," Jose spat and used the hand that wasn't in Erik's hair to harshly slap his temple. Before Erik could react, Jose had roughly slammed back into his mouth, beginning a quick pace of thrusting in his throat.  
After another minute of brutal thrusting, he pushed Erik's head off of him and tucked himself away. Erik sighed quietly in relief as that must mean he was done and the punishment was over.  
"Take off your shorts and your briefs. And bend over your bed," Jose said deeply as he tugged his belt out of the loops and folded it in half.  
"W-what? Please no. The other ones still haven't healed yet," Erik begged and quickly shook his head, backing away from his father. He cried out in pain as he felt the leather connect with the smooth skin of his cheek, doubling over to cradle his face in his hands with tears quickly falling.  
"Take. Them. Off. And bend over. Do I need to hit you in the face with this thing again, or will you actually listen this time?!" Jose shouted, his face beet-red in anger. Erik cried as he reached down, his arms shaking from him hyperventilating as he fidgeted with the tie of his shorts. He let them fall to his ankles and pushed down his white briefs, his knees closing together to keep even a shred of dignity as he turned to face his bed and bent over. Jose chuckled at the sight of the bruises and burst blood vessels that he had caused from the more recent occurrences of him mercilessly whipping his youngest son.  
"Lyle can't save you now," Jose smirked evilly and pulled his arm back with the belt before roughly slamming it against the backs of Erik's thighs, the sound of Erik yelping in pain and the loud slap of the skin just made him angrier as he repeatedly whipped all over his butt and thighs. The whip marks were bright and feeling like a hum as they practically vibrated, many of them purpling, though some were a brilliant shade of red, and more vessels had popped at the force.  
"S-stop! Stop! Please stop!" Erik muffled sobs into the blankets, his face and neck red from screaming at the pain of fresh bruises being made and old ones being attacked for what felt like hours. His eyes rolled back and his head lolled to the side with a quiet gurgle as he felt on the verge if fainting. Jose gave one last hard slap across his butt before putting his belt down and pulling his son's clothes back up.  
"Maybe next time, you'll do what I say the very second I say it," Jose seethed through gritted teeth in his ear before stepping out of the room and closing the door with a slam harsh enough to echo through the house and rumble the wall.  
"I...I will," Erik whispered weakly as the room went dark.


	3. So Where Do We Begin?

"You know, Mer-Bear, you've been acting different these past two days," Jane smirked as she sipped at her red wine, sitting across from her daughter at their large dining room table. "Makes me wonder."  
"Wonder what?" Meredith giggled as she furrowed her brows together.  
"Oh ya know.." Jane trailed off and shook her head in amusement.  
"Mom thinks you and Craig are moving out of the friendzone," Jackson mumbled around a mouthful of pasta, chuckling as his mother laid a smack on his bicep. "What, I'm just saying what you said!"  
"Oh my god, mom! No! Craig is my best friend. He's practically my twin," Meredith groaned in disgust and tipped her head back, her face scrunching.  
"Well, I mean, it just seems that...you know. Maybe someone has joined the life of Meredith. You're acting how I used to whenever a boy was in my life. Like a cute boy," Jane shrugged and tilted her head slightly to the left as she stared closely at Meredith. "So if it's not Craig..."  
"It's nobody, mom," Meredith blushed and looked down at her plate, pushing the bits of pasta around with her fork. She bit her lip as she avoided eye contact with the other two though she could feel them staring at her. Meredith sighed softly and ran her little fingers through her short hair, some of the strands falling back into her face. "Erik. His name...is Erik...Menendez. He's new in school and we have an acting class together. And...I'm meeting up with him tomorrow at that coffee shop- just to talk about our project! Nothing more!"  
"Menendez? Is he Hispanic?" Jane raised a brow.  
"I'm not sure. We havent really talked about that yet. Most I know is he just moved here from New Jersey, so he has the accent. And he's in the grade as me and Craig," Meredith mumbled. She couldn't help the smile that formed on her cheeks, the thought of the boy making her her heart leap in her chest. She hoped that their time at the coffee shop would give them a chance to start to get to know each other. "He gave me his phone number...to...to call him for making plans about the screenplay we need to write. Together."  
"Well I just have to meet this boy. You need to come up with a reason to invite him over. I would love to have him for dinner," Jane smiled softly and placed her wine glass down. She was glad her daughter was finally seeming happy again with how her life was changing with the new school year. All she could do was pray this Erik kid wouldn't break her heart.  
"Seems Mer has a thing for younger guys," Jackson said quietly and rolled his eyes, standing up to clean his dish.  
"Jackson-"  
"It's fine, mom, really. They're sweeter when they're a bit younger," Meredith giggled and rubbed the back of her neck.  
"I don't want to know how you know that," Jane cringed and stood up, her chair not making a sound as she had put padding on the feet to protect the perfection that was her hardwood floors. "Go to sleep, you two. Fresh day tomorrow. I love you both," she said with a loving smile and pressed a soft kiss to both of her children's foreheads.  
"Love you too," they spoke in unison before the three parted ways to their bedrooms. Meredith shut her door quietly and walked to her windows to leave them slightly ajar and gingerly close her wine colored curtains, smiling as they lightly swayed with the breeze.  
She slipped out of her outfit and into a silky pajama set of pink silk shorts and a pink silk cropped spaghetti strap shirt. The top section of her blonde hair was pulled into a messy bun on the top of her head, tied in place with a blue scrunchie. She laid on her side on her big bed, pulling the floral patterned blankets up under her arms. Meredith faced her bedside table, staring at the folded bit of scrap paper that she had placed the from her bag.  
"What's the worst that could happen?" Meredith whispered and quickly stuck her arm out to snatch up the paper as well as the white phone that sat next to it. "Okay...just don't even think about it...747...555-3492," she dialed and sucked in a deep breath. She shut her eyes and hesitated a few seconds before pressing the call button. "Oh god, what am I doing?!" Meredith held the phone to her ear as she nibbled her lower lip, lightly scratching at her face as she listened to to the ringing.  
"Hello?" A deep voice spoke on the other end of the line. Meredith quickly sat up with wide eyes and a soft gasp.  
"Hello- hey- hi! Um...I know, it's really late but I was just sitting here kind of bored, a bit lonely, thought I'd call," she rambled rapidly and twirled her hair in her fingers.  
"Meredith?" Erik chuckled as he recognized the voice of the cute girl in his acting class. "Yeah, that's fine. Don't worry about it. You can call whenever."  
"Yeah? You're gonna regret saying that," she giggled and laid back down, her left knee bent with her right leg laid gently in top. "So I was thinking..."  
"Oh you were, were you? What about?" He mumbled and Meredith could practically hear the smile in his words.  
"Well maybe tomorrow during class we can discuss the plot in our screenplay, but then at the coffee shop, maybe we could...get to know each other? Just talk over coffee?" Meredith asked a tad bit shakily, her head tilting to the left.  
"I think...that sounds like a great idea. I would love to get to know you better," Erik mumbled deeply, his fingers slowly running through his thick curls.  
"Okay. Good. I can't wait to-" Meredith was cut off by the sound of a door slamming open on the other end of the phone. "Erik?"  
"Dad, what are you...was earlier not enough? No- no I didn't mean to sound- no no no!" She heard muffled shouting before the phone cut out and she was left listening to the beeping of an ended call. Meredith waited a few seconds before quickly placing the phone down in fear, her eyes big and her jaw slightly dropped.  
"Oh my god..." Meredith whispered to herself and slowly pulled her blankets up to her chin as she rolled on to her other side to face away from the phone. Her breathing was quivering as she tried to piece together what she had just heard. His voice had gone from so sweet and calming to squeaky and fearful. Why would he sound fearful of his dad going in his room? "No," she shook her head as she tried pushing the thoughts from her head. Not everyone had the same experiences as her brother. Not everyone had that messed up of a father.  
She found it difficult to fall asleep after, but managed to squeeze in a couple hours.

"Craig, I need to talk to you," Meredith roughly gripped the bicep of her best friend as she saw him standing in the school hallway, dragging him behind her in the direction of their class.  
"Woah, slow down, blondie. If I didn't know you, you'd have me thinking you accidentally set off a nuclear bomb," Craig laughed at his joke before widening his green eyes. "You didn't set off a nuclear bomb, did you?"  
"What? No! It's about our new friend in acting," she mumbled softly to him, putting a smile on her face as they hurried past other students and to their table in the back corner of the classroom.  
"Erik? What about him?" Craig furrowed his brows together in confusion, his mind wandering to the endless possibilities of what she could be going about this time. Meredith sat down next to him and scooted her chair as close as she could so she wouldn't have to worry if other people were listening in or not.  
"I called him last night, just to confirm our plans and... well he was really kind and warm and it made me all happy, but... it so suddenly changed a-and I heard like...you know that sound when someone like throws a door open? And it hits the wall?" She whispered, her forehead creasing from her nerves as she attempted to tell the story.  
"Yeah. Really big, deep crash. Like when you drop a bucket," Craig nodded along and crossed his arms on the table to lean in closer.  
"Well, I heard that. And he went from being really sweet, to really...I don't know how else to explain it other than scared. I think he dropped the phone on the bed because things got muffled but I heard him begging someone not to do something. And there was another person but I couldn't hear the words, but I know it was a he, and-"  
"Where is this going, Meredith?" Craig said with a heavy sigh and rubbed at his eyes with the heels of his palms.  
"He was scared and begging his dad not to do something to him," Meredith spoke gently and locked eyes with him. She could see Craig's shoulders tense up and his ears pull back.  
"Maybe...maybe you're just over thinking it. Ya know, after what happened with your dad and Jackson," he whispered and placed his hand lightly on her wrist.  
"I know what I heard, Craig."  
"I'm not saying you didn't hear that. All I'm saying is don't think too much of it until other things start happening. You don't want to be the reason his family could get split up if nothing is going on," he explained calmly.  
"Okay. Okay. Yeah, I get what you mean. I'll just keep an eye out for anything suspicious," Meredith nodded and chewed the inside of her cheek. The class door opening grabbed her attention and she turned in her chair, watching Erik walk in with his head down. He plopped into his chair and took his pen from his bag.  
Erik could feel them staring daggers into the top of his head so he slowly lifted it to face them, his left cheek facing a bit away. "What?"  
"Nothing. Just- woah woah, what's that?" Craig gasped as he took Erik's chin tightly in his fingers and turned his head to show where the black and purple straight bruise sat itself furiously dark on his tan skin. Meredith gasped softly in shock and placed a hand over her mouth, her mind going blank.  
"Oh...you know...tennis accident," Erik cleared his throat, flinching as Craig ran the tips of his fingers over the warm patch of skin.  
"You should really ice it," Craig mumbled and let go, his hand falling to the table.  
"I can walk you to the nurse, see if she'll let you lie down and ice that thing," Meredith spoke softly and rose from her seat, adjusting her skirt as she did. She held her hand out to him, concern evident on her face. "Please."  
"...okay," Erik gulped thickly and took her hand as he stood up. "Just to get you two to stop worrying."  
As Meredith and Erik began walking away from the table, Craig subtly turned his head to stare at them, his eyes widening at the sight of those same sort of bruises all over the backs of Erik's thighs, the marks seeming to continue up under his shorts though he couldn't be certain. He quickly looked down at the table to try and forgot what he had seen, knowing it wasn't his place to get involved.

"You said you're from New Jersey, right?" Meredith smiled sweetly and gently stirred the milk into her mug of hot tea.  
"Yeah. Born in Gloucester Township," Erik shrugged weakly as he sipped his coffee.  
"Is your whole family from around there?"  
"Nah. My dad and his family are from Cuba. My brother was born in New York, so I would assume that's where my mom is from," he chuckled lightly.  
"I didn't know you had a brother," Meredith shook her head and leaned her elbows on the table.  
"His name is Lyle. Well, it's Joseph, but his middle name is Lyle so he goes by that. He's...fuck, like twenty? Around that? But he doesn't live here, he's going to Princeton University so he has a place in Jersey," Erik explained.  
"Well if he's anything like you, he must be lovely," Meredith giggled cutely. Erik turned his head away to hide his smile and look cheeks.  
"Yeah, yeah...so what about you? What's your family like?" He asked to turn the conversation.  
"I live with my mom and my little brother, Jackson. He's fourteen. My whole family is from California so there isn't anything to exciting there," Meredith shrugged. She picked up her tea to blow the steam away and sip gingerly, trying to subtly examine the bruise on his face as she did so.  
"Where's your dad?" Erik asked gently as he was positive he hadn't heard her mention one.  
"Oh he doesn't live with us. He's like...in jail. And will be for awhile," she said as though it was the most casual topic.  
"Oh. I'm sorry, Meredith," he mumbled and looked down.  
"It's okay. Him being in jail means my little brother is safe and my dad is getting the mental help he needs," Meredith smiled softly and reached over to tilt his head up so she could look into his eyes and let her hand fall to lay on his. They're blue, she thought as she studied the coloring in his eyes. Very blue. Almost suffocatingly blue, but in a good way. In a way that gave her the urge to dive headfirst into the deepest ocean and explore what could be under the waves. Blue like the blue raspberry candies she had seen in the stores lately. Or like the sky in the middle of summer. She could think of thousands of ways to attempt to describe the blue she was staring into but nothing came remotely close to the color that made her heart race. It was so pristine and heavy and unique with its gold ring around his pupils and spotted throughout that it quickly became her favorite color.  
"You're staring," Erik smirked and turned his hand over to lightly hold on to hers, noticing just how small her hands really were.  
"I- I am?" Meredith gulped and sat up as she was broken from her trance by his deep voice, gasping softly as she saw their hands loosely locked together.  
"Mhm. Wasn't gonna say anything, but you almost knocked your mug over," he chuckled and shook his head, using his free hand to push her mug out of danger. "So how old are you?"  
"Eighteen. What about you?" She giggled and nibbled at her lip.  
"Seventeen."  
"Oh really? So when's your birthday?" Meredith said with raised brows. She knew he was younger than her but didn't know how big the age difference would be.  
"Novembee twenty-seventh. When's yours?" He mumbled and stared down at his drink and the steam that rose in delicate swirls.  
"February twenty-eighth. That means we're not compatible!" Meredith whined and pouted her lower lip.  
Erik furrowed his brows and looked up at her in confusion. "What?"  
"Star signs!" She gasped and laid a hand over her heart.  
"Oh god," Erik laughed and shook his head in amusement. "You're gonna let fucking zodiac signs decide who you're around?"  
"Well what else am I supposed to do? Stars know best," she mumbled and lightly shrugged her shoulders.  
"Prove them wrong."  
Meredith couldn't help but grin at his words, her head turning away in embarrassment at how he made her heart flutter. It was just a silly crush, she would get over it soon.  
"So about our screenplay..." she whispered.  
"Yeah. That," he chuckled and watched as she took out her notebook and sparkly purple pen.

"Okay cool! Here for literally four hours! The sun has gone down! I'm on my fourth cup of tea, you've had five cups of coffee, and all we have is character names," Meredith laughed as she looked at their mess of a table, papers scattered everywhere with all sorts of writing and pen marks scratching out ideas. Their pens laid at random, some capped, some not. There were sticky notes on the ideas they liked, those papers being covered in a mix of their handwritings.  
"Emma and Jame!" Erik smiled proudly, having absolutely no hope of them finishing their script and filming it on time. "When is this due?"  
"By the end of this half of the year. So yeah, we have...end of September, October, November, December, January...like four and a half months, but it needs to be at least like twenty minutes long," Meredith pouted and rested her head on the window.  
"We'll get it done. I promise," Erik mumbled with a weak smile.  
"You're going to regret making that promise," Meredith smirked and lightly kicked his shin under the table with the tip of her toe. "Tomorrow after school, follow my car, we'll go to my house and work on it some more."  
"Sounds like a plan," he chuckled and helped her with packing up all of their papers. He took out his wallet to place fifty dollars on the table for the waitress.  
"I could've paid, ya know. I'm not broke," she giggled and rolled her eyes.  
"Then next time you will," Erik smirked and held the door open for her. Meredith blushed at the gesture and nodded as a thank you before stepping out.  
"Goodnight, Erik," Meredith laughed and went to her car, watching him go to his. Erik made it to his car first and sat behind the wheel, waiting until Meredith got in her car and safely pulled out of the parking lot before driving himself home.

"Well you're certainly home late, Mer. I thought you were just going to spend an hour at that coffee shop?" Jane said with a smirk as she watched her blonde daughter shuffle into the house.  
"Yeah...I thought so too," Meredith giggled and leaned her back against the front door, staring at the ground as she lightly kicked her feet.  
"I'm glad you had fun. You'll need to tell me all about it in the morning. But for now, go to sleep. You have school in the morning," Jane smiled and kissed Meredith's forehead before turning to make her way to the grand staircase.  
"He's coming over tomorrow. Just thought I'd let you know...he's coming over tomorrow," Meredith said quickly. Jane turned to look at her and chuckled.  
"I can't wait to meet him."


	4. Human

"Get up. Now," a voice seethed in Erik's ear. He was asleep in his bed as it was near two in the morning and squirmed under his blankets. He felt those blankets slipping down his body, his chest and stomach getting cold as his shirt was pushed up.  
"Hm?" Erik mumbled and rubbed at his eyes as he slowly opened them, his vision blurry as he tried to see what was happening. He gasped quietly in fear at the sight of his father and attempted to push himself up the bed and away. "No, no, no."  
"Stop fucking moving," Jose growled and fully took off his kid's shirt. His hands ran up and down his torso with a smirk, feeling the muscles tensed under his skin. He slid his hands down more and tucked his fingers underneath the waistbands of his shorts and briefs.  
"I- I don't want to. Please, no," Erik whimpered softly and reached down to push Jose's hands away. Jose tightly gripped Erik's wrists and pinned them next to his head.  
"These. Stay. Here," he spat and went back to yank down his shorts and briefs, pulling them off his ankles and tossing them to the side. "You're in big fucking trouble."  
"What kind of trouble..?" Erik asked, his voice quivering in fear.  
"Your favorite kind," Jose smirked as he pulled out the newly purchased pack of thumbtacks. Erik's eyes went wide and filled with tears and he quickly shook his head, backing up against the headboard of his bed.  
"Pl-ease no," he squeaked and kept backing away. Jose gripped Erik's wrist tight enough in his hand to bruise and yanked him off of the bed. "Daddy, please, no! Please, please, please, I'll do anything!"  
"I don't fucking care," Jose growled and dragged him to the chair he had set up in front of the full body mirror in the bedroom. He forced him to sit down with a deep chuckle. Erik screwed his eyes shut and turned his head away, his chest heaving. "Look at yourself," he grumbled and gripped his curls to turn his head back to the mirror. He wrapped his hand underneath Erik's left knee and pulled it up to his chest.  
"I don't want to look..." he mumbled and sighed shakily in shame.  
"Well it wasn't really a question. I'll still take the pictures like I planned to," Jose grumbled in his ear as he turned on the camera he had set in place while Erik was asleep. He gently took a pushpin out as an evil smirk twisted on his lips. He continued to pull Erik's leg back and reached around, dragging the needle up the skin of the back of his thigh. "This should be fun," he whispered and shoved the tack into his thigh until it couldnt push in anymore.  
Erik groaned in pain and scrunched up his face, his legs squirming. He tipped his head back as the built up tears slipped down his cheeks and he cried into his hand. "S-s-sto-op!" He begged.  
"Shut the fuck up or you'll wake your mother," Jose spat and began pushing more and more tacks into the backs of his thighs. "I want you to look at yourself when I do this," he growled and pushed Erik's legs down on to the chair so the tacks would go deeper.  
"Fuuuck!" Erik gasped harshly, his body writhing in pain. He did as he was told and looked in the mirror, trying to see past his tears to where he was bleeding on the seat. Jose reached down to take his shaft in his hand, taking another pin and dragging the tip up and down the sensitive skin. "S-stop! Stop, stop, stop!" He sobbed violently and pushed his father's hands away, his own hands going down to cover his privates.  
"Shut up!" Jose bellowed and dropped the pin, spinning the chair around and driving a hard punch into his son's cheekbone. "I tell you to shut up, you shut up! Your brother would listen. Why can't you be more like him, huh?! Since you worship him so fucking much, like the faggot that you are. You are no son of mine. You aren't worthy of the last name you hold," he growled and continued slamming his fists into Erik's chest and stomach, some hits going to his face again.  
Erik coughed as he was repeatedly winded, his vision going blurry and darkening. "I'm...dad...dad, I'm sorry," he whispered and his eyes rolled to the back of his head as he was losing consciousness. "I can't...I can't..."  
Jose huffed out of annoyance and grabbed Erik by the wrist to drag him to his bed. He shoved him on to his stomach and one by one, he would pull out the thumb tacks. Once they were all out, he laid two hard smacks on the reddened and slightly bleeding skin, one on each thigh.  
Erik could feel his heartbeat under his skin in his thighs, knowing the areas would be swollen in the morning. He let out a shaky sigh of relief at the sound of his bedroom door closing as he knew he was finally left alone.  
"I...I should call Lyle. He can...he can fix it," Erik gulped and weakly reached out to grab the phone off his bedside table. "Okay...wait...no. He'll ask what else is happening...dad would kill me if Lyle knew," he whimpered and put the phone back down. He pulled the blankets over his naked body to stop the breeze that raised goosebumps in his skin and let the buzz of unconsciousness take over his brain.

Erik was one of the first in his acting class the next morning. He sat alone at his table, his head facing the table. He had wrapped his wrist and hand in ace bandages as the bruising was dark enough to raise suspicions and moving it sent shocks of pain up his forearm.  
Meredith walked in to the room, Craig following close behind her. "I can't believe you totaled your car. All because you forgot to put it in park while you're kissing some girl and bam! Right into a telephone pole! Your dad is going to kill you," she laughed and shook her head. She had her short hair pulled into little, low pigtails, and her smile was bright and happy as ever.  
"He's going to think I did it on purpose since I was just asking about me possibly getting a new car," Craig sighed heavily and dropped into his chair, kicking his feet up on to the desk.  
"Put those down," Meredith mumbled and pushed his shoes down. She placed her bag on the floor and gently sat in her seat. "Hi, Erik," she smiled sweetly as she looked at him.  
"Hm? Hey," Erik mumbled and gave her a weak smile.  
"Hurt your wrist?" Craig furrowed his brows and reached over, taking Erik's hand gently in his fingers and pulling his arm over to examine the bandaging. He pulled back a small section on his wrist, his eyes widening in shock at the black marking that seemed to wrap around the skin. "Woah!"  
"Yeah. Fell on it playing tennis," Erik lied as he bounced his leg nervously, his head turning to face the other way.  
"You need to get that x-rayed," Craig gulped as he adjusted the ace bandages so they bruising was fully covered, caressing his arm.  
"No, no. It's fine. Just bruised," he mumbled and chewed his lower lip.  
"Erik, I'm serious. That's not good," Craig whispered and took out a bandage wrap he kept in his bag in case he himself for hurt from practice. He wrapped it tight around his wrist, on top of the other bandages to protect his arm better.  
"...thank you," Erik whispered and looked down. He could feel Meredith staring at him in concern, his face going bright red. He hoped she wouldn't ask him too many questions about it at her house later.  
"Here. Forgot to give you this. Ms.Evans handed a paper out after you left for the nurse last class," Craig mumbled and took out a folded piece of paper. Erik opened the paper, reading where Craig's phone number was written along with a short note: "in case you ever need out of your house for a bit".  
Erik nodded lightly and folded it back up, tucking it into his pocket. "Thank you," he said quietly and gave him a small smile.  
"Anytime," Craig chuckled and allowed him to take his arm back.  
"I'm confused," Meredith tilted her head and flicked her eyes between them.  
"Don't be. It's a guy thing," Craig smirked.  
"Craig, I swear to god if you're sneaking him pages from your playboy collection," she sighed heavily and rolled her eyes. Craig blushed pink and gulped thickly.  
"I don't...I don't have that stuff," he mumbled and looked down at the desk.  
"I've been going to your house since you were twelve. You don't even try hiding those magazines. Or your lube," Meredith giggled as she sat there revealing some of her best friend's secrets.  
"Oh come on. Every guy has at least one playboy issue," Craig mumbled and ran his fingers through his brown locks.  
"I highly doubt that. Erik, do you have any?" Meredith crossed her arms as she turned to Erik.  
"Personally, no. But my brother does, so I know where they are if need be," Erik shrugged lightly, not finding a reason to lie to her.  
"You two are so gross," she whined and shook her head as she tried not picturing anything of Craig. The thought of Craig using those magazines to jerk off made her physically sick to her stomach. Erik, however...well, it just seemed to make her jealous. Made her upset to think of him using pictutes of girls she knew didn't look like her. But if she took away the magazine and just thought about him getting off...that was more than okay to her.  
"You say that, but you have Calvin Klein issues in your room," Craig laughed and pulled out his pencil. Meredith gasped as her face went pink and she smacked Craig's arm, unable to believe he would say that in front of the boy he knew she had a crush on.  
"Oh she does, does she?" Erik raised a brow and gave Meredith a smirk. She felt her face heat up and her breathing catch in her throat. It was a look she hadn't seen from him thus far.  
"It's...very possible. Oh just shut up!" She pouted and crossed her arms over her chest, her face fully bubblegum pink.  
"Have you two decided on anything for your screenplay yet? Matt and I got comedy, so we have like...the names, situation, and first page done," Craig asked the pair.  
"Well..." Erik mumbled.  
"We have names," Meredith nodded.  
"Yeah, we have names," Erik chuckled.  
"That's it? What genre were you given?" Craig laughed and shook his head, not sure whether he was amused or disappointed in them.  
"Romance. All lovey dovey, ooey gooey, cutesie kissy kissy," Meredith giggled. "I don't know anything about love, my previous boyfriends all sucked!"  
"Well maybe your partner knows some things from past relationships. Erik?" Craig looked over hopefully.  
"Yeah, don't ask me," Erik shook his head quickly, his eyes looking anywhere but their faces out of embarrassment.  
"Hm...if you say so," she mumbled and furrowed her brows as she stared at Erik. There was something about him. Many things, really. Every time she felt sue was getting to know him, he would say something else and she would be back to square one. It's as if whenever she learned one thing, a new wall, a new challenge would be put up to keep her blocked out. She wanted to know him. Wanted to be let into his mind and explore the depths of his soul. He was hiding things. Well, they all were, but he was different. Meredith could feel that he was hiding things, big things. Why would he not be willing to talk about love? Why was he coming in with a new injury everyday? What was his family like? Why does he seem to only wear sweatshirts or long sleeves? There was so much to him, he was such a complex human. And with Meredith's stubborn ways, she was determined to find out every little thing she could.

Meredith pulled into the driveway of her large house, smiling as she looked in her rearview mirror to see Erik pull up behind her. She giggled lightly and got out of her car, gently smoothing out her skirt and grabbing her bag. She walked over to his car and opened his door, taking his good wrist and pulling.  
"Come on!" She giggled as she pulled him out.  
"Okay, okay," he laughed and got out of his car, shutting the door behind him. "Nice house, by the way."  
"Oh, thank you," Meredith smiled and kept her hold on his wrist as she led them to the front door. She pulled out her keys, flipping through to her house key, the rest jingling together. She pushed her hair out of her face as she opened the door and stepped in. "Oh! You're home early, mom."  
"I took a half day since Jackson had therapy. He's there now," Jane said with a smile as she looked up from her paperwork to her daughter. She pushed herself up and made her way over, her high heels clicking. Jane pressed a sweet kiss to Meredith's forehead.  
"Mom, this...this is Erik," Meredith blushed and stepped to the side, motioning to the tall boy behind her. Jane gasped softly and clapped her hands.  
"Oh it's wonderful to meet you! Meredith has told me a few things, but I would love to get to know more," Jane chuckled and held out her hand.  
"Pleasure's all mine, Ms.Westbay. I've heard quite a bit about you. All good things, no worries," Erik smiled warmly and gently took her hand to shake.  
"What a charmer. Please, call me Jane," she laughed and cupped his hand.  
"I could never. Respect deserves to be given to the woman who made such an incredible daughter," Erik gave Meredith a playful wink, causing the blonde girl to roll her eyes jokingly and shake her head.  
"Oh I like him already. It's nice to finally see someone other than Craig," Jane smirked and looked him up and down. "You're right, Mer-Bear. He is cute."  
"Mom!" Meredith gasped as her eyes widened. "He's right there!"  
"And? Look at him. He's cute!" Jane said and reached up to hold Erik's chin in her hand.  
"Let's just go up to my room," Meredith mumbled and and grabbed his bicep, pulling him away.  
"You better be staying for dinner, Erik!" Jane called after them before sitting back down at her paperwork with a chuckle.  
"I'm sorry about her," Meredith sighed out of embarrassment and shut her bedroom door, plopping on to the large bed.  
"Don't be. She's much better than my mom," he chuckled and nervously ran his fingers through his curls.  
"That's impossible. My mom is so...friendly. Like everyone she meets, so smiley and embarrassing and kissing our heads. I would give anything to change that," she huffed and tipped her head back.  
"Sounds better than having a who's always drunk and writes suicide notes and tells her kids they ruined her life," he shrugged and leaned his back against the white wall. It was a cute room, with the three white walls and one pink wall. He liked the slanted ceiling and how she decorated with lights and pillows and blankets.  
"Oh...yeah, I guess it isn't so bad," Meredith mumbled, now feeling bad for what she had said. "Come sit down, I wanna look at your arm."  
Erik did as he was told and shuffled closer, sitting next to Meredith on the bed. She scooted close to him, her thigh practically on top of his. He bit his lip as he looked her over. His heart was beating so fast he was scared she could hear it rattling in his ribcage if she listened close enough. Meredith gently took his hand and began unraveling the first ace bandage, finding herself nervous as she thought of what she was about to see.  
"Earlier today, in class. When we were talking about love, you said not to ask you. Why? Haven't had any good girlfriends?" Meredith asked quietly as she glanced up at him.  
"No. Just haven't had one yet," Erik mumbled and locked eyes with her, feeling himself suddenly struggling to breathe at the sight of her warm brown eyes. Brown eyes had always been his favorite.  
"What? You've never had a girlfriend?" She gasped in shock. "Have you ever kissed anyone?!"  
"...no," he gulped, finding himself to be embarrassed by this information. It wasn't that big of a deal, was it? He'd never been embarrassed by it before.  
"Why not? I'm sure girls have been practically throwing themselves at you," Meredith said.  
"Just...haven't had the time, I guess," he whispered and looked down at his wrist.  
"If you say so," she mumbled and went back to unwrapping the bandages, sighing sadly as she exposed the dark bruising. "Oh, honey. This isn't good..."  
"I know," Erik sighed and examined the damage with her. Meredith bit her lip lightly as she thought about his injury. She didn't believe him that it was another tennis injury.  
"How did you hurt it?" She asked softly and tilted her head.  
"Oh, um... fell down the stairs," Erik cleared his throat, his adams apple bobbing.  
"Really? Earlier you said you fell playing tennis," Meredith whispered with a soft sigh. "Why are you lying to me, Erik?"  
"I really...I can't," he whispered and shook his head, staring at the ground in shame.  
"Okay, okay. Maybe some day you will be able to. I'm going to get you some ice, you try and think up any ideas for our plot," Meredith said softly and cupped his cheek. "It's going to be okay."  
"I don't know if it will be," Erik mumbled quietly as Meredith walked out of the room. He stared down at his angrily black and purple arm, thinking back to his father's violence front the night before. It pained him sitting in hard school chairs all day, but the last thing he wanted was to raise anymore suspicions.  
"I hope you don't mind it's turtle shaped," Meredith smiled as she entered the room and sat herself next to him once again. She took his hand and gently held the ice to his wrist, whispering an apology as she saw and felt him flinch.  
"So we could write something kind of like...not knowing they were in love until the end. Fast friends not understanding why they would get so jealous and protective and territorial over the other until it just...hits them," Erik said weakly, looking at where she held his hand.  
"I like that. And they finally get to end it with a kiss," Meredith smiled softly at him, blushing as she remembered they were to act out a small chunk for their class once it was completed.  
"Now isn't that cheesy," he chuckled and stood up, going to grab his bag. Meredith quickly slapped a hand over her mouth in shock at the state of thighs. What were once so smooth and perfect were now bruised and covered in these red spots that looked like multiple little scabs from small stabbings. She stared sadly at the two large handprints on the delicate skin, one on each leg  
"Can I take care of those for you?" She asked gently. "Your legs?"  
"They're fine, Mer. They're just a but irritated," Erik chuckled and shook his head.  
"Those aren't irritated. Those are abused, Erik. You don't need to tell me by who or how exactly, but I'm asking that you let me care for them," Meredith sighed heavily and ran her fingers through her blonde hair, feeling herself get a bit angry with how he just didn't seen to care that he was hurt. She, who just met him, was concerned for him, scared for his safety, and he wasn't. "Let me take care of them or start hiding when you're hurt so I stop asking."  
Erik stayed for quiet for a while, not sure what to say without upsetting her. He wanted to tell her what was going on, he wanted to tell her so bad. He wanted to tell anyone. Because maybe somebody would help him. But that's exactly what scared him. Somebody would help him and he would be forced to admit these secrets to the world for trial or he wouldnt be believed or he would be put in foster care or people would hate him. They would he was a freak, that he must've liked what was being done to him when in reality, he only complied with the wishes of his father out of fear for his life. He knew that telling someone who put him in danger because he knew his father would find out before police got to him. "You can take care of them," he finally whispered.  
"Thank you," Meredith sighed in relief and stood up. She walked into her bathroom where she kept her first aid kit, looking for bandages, a disinfectant, and her Neosporin. She had him lay on his stomach on her bed as she sat between his legs. Meredith pushed the legs of his shorts up to be able to care for as much of the skin as she could see.  
"This is going to sting," she whispered as she rubbed the disinfectant on the wounds, feeling him flinch and tense up under her touch. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."  
"It's okay. They needed to be wiped off," Erik mumbled and screwed his eyes shut as she slathered the Neosporin on his thighs, sighing happily as she used the ointment to also work on rubbing out some of the knots in his tensed muscles. "You didn't need to do this, but thank you..."  
"Of course. We just met, but I care about you. Very much. More than I should since we really did just meet," Meredith smiled weakly and opened one of the bandages. Comfortable silence fell between them as she slowly began sticking the bandages down, one by one.  
"Well..." Erik muttered and looked down at his forearms that he had rested his head on top of.  
"Well what?" Meredith said softly, pressing over the bandages she already stuck down to make sure they stayed.  
"Sometimes...my dad gets angry a lot. Like every night, because of work and all that. And I'm usually the closest thing in reach or he comes up to my room and...yeah. Takes it out on me," he explained shakily, almost immediately feeling regret sink in as she froze behind him.  
"So...what you're saying...is your dad does this to you. When I called you the other night and it got cut off but you were begging someone not to do something...were you begging your dad not to hurt you?" She whispered, trying to keep her voice as even as possible though she struggled with it since her dad was currently in jail for a form of abuse.  
"Um...yeah," Erik whispered and nodded his head weakly. He kept his eyes shut and rested his forehead down on his uninjured forearm. "You can't tell anyone though, Meredith. I mean it."  
"Okay, okay...I won't tell anyone. I promise," Meredith nodded and began wrapping his legs in some gauze to protect the injured skin. "I promise."


End file.
